Suzaku of the Preservation
by Sikon
Summary: There was no utopia. Lelouch's death, no matter how carefully planned, did not magically solve all the problems in the world. Now it's up to Suzaku, as the new Zero, to protect the new world his friend has built.
1. Round 01: Lelouch's Legacy

The year was 2018 a.t.b. The masked freedom fighter Zero, man of miracles previously thought dead, creates another miracle as he publicly assassinates Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia, freeing the world from his tyrannical rule. So it was written in history books.

Little did anyone know that Lelouch planned his own death in advance, uniting the world against himself, so that the world's hatred would disappear with him -- killed at his request by his friend Suzaku Kururugi, hiding under the mask of Zero. Lelouch made this sacrifice to atone for his past atrocities and create a world where his younger sister, Nunnally, could live in peace.

But even the purest, most noble dreams and most well-thought-out plans prove to be disappointingly fragile when faced with the stubborn, wayward foe known as reality...

**Round 01**  
**LELOUCH'S LEGACY**

To say Ashford Academy was overcrowded that hot and sunny day would be an understatement. Even back in the times of Milly Ashford's crazy festivals, the school grounds have not seen such a gathering of students and outsiders alike in the central park, around a newly-installed street TV screen, on which the former student council president was seen performing a live news broadcast.

Rivalz stood in a remote corner, looking at Milly's giant face with eyes of naive adoration. Next to him, leaning against the school wall, stood a female student wearing a hood, concealing her face but not occasional loose strays of red hair. She was constantly looking around, concerned, and at the sight of a lovely, smiling Japanese couple walking by, pulled the hood lower.

"Living legend, my ass..." Kallen mumbled, but even the nearby Rivalz couldn't hear her in the overall noise.

"Never in a year have the streets of Tokyo been so lively!" Milly said from the screen cheerfully. "That's right: exactly in a year, as today, in the anniversary of the Bloody Emperor's demise, the people of Japan are waiting impatiently for the arrival of the 100th Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire, Nunnally vi Britannia!"

The camera panned over the airfield, showing Kaname Ohgi in a formal suit -- fitting him about as much as the rags of a Japanese rebel would fit a sophisticated Britannian aristocrat -- standing on an airstrip in wait, along with other members of the Japanese government, surrounded by two rows of security guards. Knightmares of the Black Knights -- the Shenhu and two Akatsukis -- stood alert nearby.

The airport terminal -- a neat two-story white building -- was paralyzed that day. Passengers waiting for their own flights did not spend their time chatting and walking around duty-free shops; the spacious interiors were nearly deserted, save for the area around the wide glass wall that offered a view on the airfield. A noisy crowd gathered here, mostly Japanese with a few rare foreigners here and there, gossiping about politics -- most delightfully raising the topic of Nunnally's past.

"That Nunnally, she used to be the governor here... Britannian governor... of the Elevens..."  
"A second Massacre Princess... tried the same bait again..."  
"Hey, hey, at least she was nicer than that Calares guy, you can't deny her that!"  
"She's Lelouch's full sister, right? Same mother?"  
"Yes, but the Bloody Emperor had her chained too, I was there when Zero--"  
"Brother, sister, doesn't matter, same cursed blood! She'll make Euphemia and Lelouch look like angels in her time, mark my words..."  
"A crybaby like that doesn't have the guts to be Empress anyway, you saw how she cried a river over Lelouch that day?"  
"They said she was blind, well, look at her now. Liars, it was a stunt to inspire pity..."  
"I heard Zero is with her..."  
"Zero? On Britannia's side? Impossible, I won't believe it until I see myself!"  
"Maybe Zero is just waiting for the right moment to kill her too, eh?.."

A girl in an elegant black dress, with knee-long blonde hair gathered into a thick braid, passed by the crowd, muttering something unintelligible. It would take some effort to recognize her as C.C. now; she had grown a little, her cheeks were hollow, and her eyes permanently lowered and filled with anxiety and sorrow. There was now a small scratch on her neck.

Uninterrupted, she passed through the passport control checkpoint, showing the bored operator a passport with the Britannian coat of arms, for Celeste Cromwell, born 2002 a.t.b. Walking upright, confidently, she reached the end of the slanted floor, where the exit to the airfield was. A lone security guard stood there, also bored; at the sight of C.C., he eyed her skeptically like she was at least a wanted mass murderer.

"Where you going, ma'am?" he asked angrily. "There are no flights boarding right now, and we're awaiting the —"

The girl stopped. "I would just like to have a closer look at the Empress. You can inspect me, I don't have concealed weapons or anything. What's the problem?"

"Is that a joke? The entire field is restricted access at the moment. Go away."

C.C. sighed. "I guess I have no choice, then..." she muttered. Her left eye lit up with the Geass sigil. "Just a small favor for a dame. You won't deny it, will you?" she smiled.

The guard melted; his hands trembled. "O-o-of course, my lady!" he exclaimed as he leant towards her, attempting to take her hand. "Come, have a look at the Prime Minister while you're at it, anything for you! Just be careful out there. Could we meet someday when I'm off duty, sweetheart?"

"Of course!" she said, grinning and waving at the guard as she exited the terminal building and walked away, trying to stay out of the view of security cameras. "Yes, yes, I know..." she whispered, frowning. "I hate doing that... I just want to look at them once again. But why, I wonder... it won't bring _him_ back, will it?.."

* * *

Inside the royal plane, Schneizel paced around Nunnally's wheelchair. He was dressed in style, if somewhat hastily -- the lower of the two buttons on his floor-long grey jacket was hanging loose. His face radiated confidence; the child empress, on the other hand, looked nervous and detached, constantly blinking and adjusting her pink dress.

"A wise move, I should say, that federative treaty project..." the prince said, putting his hands behind his back. "That should quell the uprisings around the country, at least somewhat. But I fear the consequences for you, sister -- with so many assassionation attempts already. You will be blamed for ruining Britannia's pride, and rightfully so, even if this is a politically weighted and reasonable decision. Some people just won't learn unless... properly educated," Schneizel put on a creepy smile, "and that would be far more easily accomplished with a more charismatic and decisive emperor, one who is not reluctant to be the ruler of half the world--"

"Schneizel!" echoed a demanding voice. The door to the adjacent section opened, and Zero entered, shaking the floor with his loud steps. "I told you before: this is not just for Britannia's sake, but for Nunnally's as well. This is the only way we can work together to build the world she desires!"

He didn't even need to see Schneizel's widened eyes to understand: the Geass took effect. "Your word is my law, Lord Zero," the prince replied enthusiastically, bowing to the masked figure.

The three heard the sound of the plane hitting the ground and coming to a stop. The outer door opened; Zero grabbed the handles on Nunnally's wheelchair and steadily rolled it out and down the ladder, with Schneizel following him calmly. Ohgi, standing on the red strip extending between the rows of guards, approached them and shook the girl's hand.

The crowd gathered in the Ashford Academy park responded with gasps and frowns at the sight of the handshake on the TV screen. Villetta Ohgi, sitting in Tamaki's bar patting her protruding round belly, just smiled at the sight of her husband.

"We, uh, welcome our Britannian guests to the United States of Japan," the Prime Minister began his speech, stumbling and constantly trying to look away from Nunnally. "Although our country had troubled relations in the past, we hope that, uh... we have reached a point when we can solve any remaining misunderstandings without causing any more... um, unnecessary bloodshed, when we can all... work together to--"

Just as the plane door closed behind the Britannian delegation, four of the security guards suddenly dropped off their uniforms, revealing bombs of liquid sakuradite attached to their shirts. Ohgi froze and blinked. The other guards immediately pointed their rifles at the four, but Ohgi made them a sign not to shoot.

"Shoot one of us, and the empress and the traitor Zero will die in the explosion," calmly said one of the infiltrators, apparently their leader, with sharply-cut hair, a long face and a protruding chin.

* * *

**Britannia Mainland****  
****Capital City of New Pendragon**

Early evening.

A near-empty street on the outskirts, a decorated bridge across a quiet canal. Here, unlike the noisy city center, time moves slowly, news travels slowly, and the citizens' daily life goes mostly undisturbed.

The lone pedestrian here, a twenty-five-ish woman in narrow sunglasses, with shoulder-long straight black hair, no doubt came here for sightseeing. She was dressed modestly, but neatly. Formal brown trousers covered her long legs, and the front of her white shirt depicted the old Britannian imperial palace, destroyed a year ago with Schneizel's FLEIJA. On her feet were lightweight, low-heeled summer shoes.

Stopping in the middle of the bridge, the passer-by unzipped her handbag, took out a small camera, and started frantically photographing everything she saw: the canal itself, reflecting the sun, the surrounding buildings -- mostly low-story, of classic Britannian architecture -- and the rare cars driving by. Judging by the expression on her smooth face, everything around seemed new and exciting to her.

Having finished the "photo session", she packed the camera back and continued the walk. About a cityblock past the bridge, she became so carried out in turning her head around that she bumped into a sloppily-dressed man of about thirty years old who exited an alleyway right in front of her.

Her sunglasses fell off, exposing her distinctly Asian eyes. "Excuse me," she said automatically with a Japanese accent. Her ethnicity left no doubt anymore.

"Eleven?!"

This cry instantly gathered a small crowd of similarly-dressed men from around the corners. The foreigner retreated into the dusty alley, where she quickly reached a dead end and became cornered. "Go back to your dirthole, Eleven!" she heard menacing voices. "What are you doing here, in Britannia?"

The woman flopped her mouth, but didn't say anything. The gang got closer; some of the assaulters were visibly drunk.

Suddenly, a noise got heard somewhere from above, and a dark figure jumped down from some balcony, landing in front of the woman and facing the attackers. She saw a young man, about eighteen years old, with long black hair dropping down and reaching his waist. He was wrapped in a black cloak (_like Zero, _she thought) and -- as she saw from the brief moment his face was turned to her -- wore a white mask concealing the upper half of his face. Something about him, especially his theatrical posture, reminded of the knights of medieval romances; it seemed as if he was about to draw out a rapier and rush headlong in the name of his dear lady.

But it didn't happen. He just stopped in front of the approaching troublemakers, showing with his posture that he feels superior to them.

"How noble of you," he said in a mocking, yet clear and gentle voice. "Most importantly, how brave. You probably think you're doing the right thing? That it's the duty of all Britannians to pursue what you call Numbers, like that? You think that it's patriotic, that you're heroes for using such overwhelming force, that you deserve a med--"

He didn't finish. The apparent leader of the gang, the man who was previously bumped into, reached out for a knife and made one swift movement across the "rescuer"'s neck. He fell on his back to the woman's feet, motionless, his neck bleeding...

* * *

**Japan, Tokyo Airport**

"Traitor?" asked Zero amusedly.

"You, Japan's hope — you sold out to Britannia!" said the long-faced man. "We fought in your name — what for? So that we would lick Lelouch's feet for three months, and then, when you finally showed him his place, you would suddenly expect us to make peace with his sister and forgive the oppressors? This won't happen, Zero! Just admit that all you wanted was to rule Britannia in her name!"

"Touching," said Schneizel, calmly and sarcastically. "But if you wanted to just kill us, you would do so already. What are your conditions?"

"First of all, your gang flies immediately back to the Americas and never again touches Japanese ground. Britannians can only visit, not stay and live here. Your country publicly apologizes for its war crimes against Japan and pays the expenses needed to undo the damage done by eight years of occupation, in particular the destruction of Tokyo. The corpse of the treasonous Kururugi--"

Zero's fingers twitched upon hearing that name. _This is getting serious, _he thought. _When we get back, we must make the precautions against grave robbery, lest they discover... But here... what can I do? If there was only one, I could have knocked him out, but four... They're learning, evidently._

"Suzaku Kururugi," he interrupted, "was an international war criminal. His fate after death must be decided by the whole world, not just Britannia and Japan. As for the rest... I see that dissent and corruption have struck the Black Knights as well. You are old-timers..."

_Should I make use of the emergency defense? _thought Zero. _But they can ask how I got that information... If I get exposed, then-- No! It's for Nunnally. I'm here to protect her... and she must... I must... __**live!**_

"Security!" exclaimed the masked knight, turning his face to one of the cameras. "Emergency protocol J3QQ4!"

In the airport building, a security operator widened her eyes, but hearing Zero's voice, decided not to hesitate. She quickly hit the required keys on the keyboard--

--and holes opened in the airfield floor throughout the length of the red strip. Zero suddenly grabbed Nunnally out of her wheelchair and ran at inhuman speed up the ladder, kicking down the plane door, which was made out of thin plastic and covered with metal paint. A second, thick and undeniably metal, door quickly dropped down behind the two, isolating them inside the plane as...

Schneizel, Ohgi, their cohorts and the security guards dropped unconscious all at once.

"Errr..." Milly's voice said over the live TV feed, "it appears that some kind of gas was released at Zero's request. Aid should arrive to the Prime Minister very soon, and the terrorists will be apprehended. We... er... will continue to provide coverage of this unexpected situation! Please don't panic!"

The crowd at Ashford, already frozen motionless by the sudden bomb threat, responded with loud gasps.

"Ohgi!" exclaimed Kallen, revealing herself — but nobody turned to her, the visitors' looks were glued to the screen.

"Kaname!" screamed Villetta, grabbing the end of the bar table. Tamaki bashed the table with his fist in fury, knocking over a glass of wine.

The cockpits of the three Knightmares on the airfield opened, and Xingke, Chiba and Futaba jumped out and rushed towards the incident scene, trying to bring Ohgi to his senses. More security guards appeared from the terminal and quickly handcuffed the four perpetrators. C.C., or rather Celeste Cromwell, used the panic that rose throughout the complex to quietly slip away, making her way through the waves of people attempting to get to the airfield. In the now-empty waiting hall, she looked critically at the display, now saying "All flights suspended" instead of listing the arrival and departure times, and walked away with a disdainful "hmnh".

Xingke's shake awakened Ohgi, who looked around in puzzlement. "W-what just happened? Where are Zero and Nunnally?"

* * *

"Sleep gas," Zero explained tiredly, putting the empress into a richly-decorated armchair aboard the plane. "Installed by Lelouch back when Japan was his, to prevent exactly these kinds of accidents."

"Suzaku," Nunnally asked demandingly, "is this the future you killed my brother for?"

Zero jumped back. Not a single emotion could reveal itself on the mask, but behind it, the young Kururugi blinked his widened eyes so rapidly as if he at least suddenly saw Charles, Marianne and Lelouch in person, all grinning at him.

"I merely brought justice to the enemy of the world, Your Majesty," he said, stumbling. "As for his henchman, he was slain in battle before that."

"Don't you lie at least to me, Suzaku!" the girl exploded. "Zero Requiem. That was the name of that hideous plan of you two, wasn't it?"

Zero sighed. "So you know everything," he said defeatedly, pulling off his helmet. It was still recognizably Suzaku Kururugi: his stern face, though hardened, displayed traces of his former youthful enthusiasm and vigor, and the bitterness in his eyes slowly mellowed down as he kept staring at Nunnally.

"It's just like before," she continued, "you two never really thought about me. You just wanted power for yourselves and kept using my name as an excuse! Princess, governor, whatever -- did you really think I wanted all that? I wanted to be just Nunnally, I wanted to live with you and Brother quietly, somewhere, anywhere!"

Suzaku made another step back. For a brief moment, it appeared to him that Euphemia herself was reborn in her half-sister. He looked at Nunnally — and for a second, imagined his lost love's face.

_I see. That day, it seemed to me that the world ended with Euphie. But it didn't. The world lived on, and I lived on... Perhaps I can still be happy, after all — but that's in Nunnally's hands now._

"And in the end, what did you achieve?" added the girl. "Brother and you are remembered as the greatest evil the world has known. I know it's not true, but I can't do anything about it. Brother is dead, you are believed to be and can't show your face, Britannia is in isolation and falling apart, and I have to deal with all this! While expecting assassins on every corner! Is this your idea of a kind world?"

"Ask Lelouch," Suzaku grumbled, putting the Zero mask back on, just before the blast door opened and Ohgi and Schneizel walked in.

* * *

The Japanese woman cowered in horror. The wannabe knight's corpse was still lying at her feet, his throat slit open and bleeding. His killer stood beside her, holding that same knife, still drenched in the young man's blood, at her own neck, whereas one of his companions reached down and grabbed her pants with obvious intentions.

Trembling, she cast a last desperate look at her attempted savior — and her jaw dropped as she saw the impossible. The bleeding stopped, and the wound on the neck sealed itself, rapidly shrinking until it disappeared completely, without a scar. The dead man opened his eyes and rose unsteadily, pushing the two drunkards away from the victim — they didn't resist much, themselves shocked by the sight to the point that it almost got them sober.

"What's the matter?" he asked with the same gentle voice, but with a degree of mockery. "Have you any idea what it's like to be killed — and not even the first time?"

The woman clinged closer to the wall, not sure whom to fear more now. The gang, shaking off their brief fear, surrounded the two, intending to dominate them by sheer numbers. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand —

— and the street around her disappeared. She felt ripped out of her body, transported, as a pure consciousness, into a different world. She saw... or heard? -- all senses seemed to mix into one in this reality -- strange images, all new, scary and unfamiliar. She felt like she was multiplying around, jumping from place to place -- if any places existed here at all. Visions ran in front of her: a long-haired girl in a straitjacket; a bird-like symbol floating around and appearing in the oddest of corners; two grey spheres, looking like planets, almost touching each other; a human silhouette leaping out of a coffin, rotating gears...

_I see you are an explorer, _she clearly heard the rescuer's voice. _You observe and record, but by necessity, you interact with the world by your very presence. And if you could decide it at will -- whether or not to expose yourself to the world?_

_What are you implying? _she asked with her thoughts.

_I can give you that power -- for a price. A contract. In return, you will help me find out the truth about myself. What I am, the cause of my immortality, and a way to end it. For this, if needed, will you be ready to follow me to the end of the world?_

_Fine. I accept!_

The last image she witnessed was the sight and sound of two loose gears meshing with each other. The woman found herself back in the same alley, but the situation was now radically different. The attackers were no longer approaching them; instead, scratching their heads and whispering "Where did they go? Ah well...", they were wandering off. The stranger was still clinging to her arm. He looked in her eyes; her left one now indicated an active Geass.

"Who are you?" she asked, still looking with some fear at him. "What's your name?"

"Name..." he repeated, biting his lower lip. "As much as I remember myself... I haven't had a proper name. Call me L.L."

* * *

_**Comments**_

_C.C.'s hair is depicted as green in the anime. However, per my "tradition", I presume that the characters don't "really" have the unrealistic hair colors and they are just a stylistic convention._

_I'll try not to touch characters whose storylines are for all intents and purposes finished, and not to disturb the status quo for them. This story is not an attempt at Code Geass R3, it will be an attempt to tie up the loose threads in the background of a new engaging conflict. Expect a tighter cast, since such canon characters as Kallen, Jeremiah, Anya, Villetta, etc. will likely get cameo roles at best._


	2. Round 02: Britannia Reformation Plan

Humans make mistakes. They are not parts in a well-planned, everlasting mechanism. Lelouch's death did not change that. The people whose paths he crossed in his quest to demolish and rebuild the world all had their own dreams and views about the future. Yet... desires, misunderstandings, and overcoming them is what drives and reshapes humankind — it is what ensures that the world will not be frozen in time, that the future will come, no matter what it may be.

As Lelouch's sister Nunnally, in whose name he changed the world, and Suzaku, his old friend and successor as Zero, struggle with the legacy they have been entrusted with, are they going to face the greatest enemy Lelouch has had in his life — the uncooperative world itself?

**Round 02**  
**BRITANNIA REFORMATION PLAN**

"L.L.?" repeated the Japanese woman, staring at the cloaked stranger. "That's a strange moniker to go by. I'm Mayuko, and I'd say it strikes me as a much more human name than 'L.L.' Why don't you just invent one for yourself?"

"I don't want to. It's not right. When I do remember my past, I might regret my new name. I don't even know where I'm from — just because my first memories are here in Britannia doesn't mean anything..."

"Your first memories?" asked Mayuko.

"I woke up in a coffin," explained L.L. "Apparently I was left for dead and locked in some kind of mourning room. I hid in a closet and waited until some strange long-robed people appeared and took the coffin away. It was late night, so I couldn't see anything clearly — I just slipped out of the building when they left the door — but well, that's a story for another time. Most importantly, are you all right?"

"What, I'm supposed to be your Andromeda, Perseus?" the woman asked defensively. "Of course I'm all right. I came to Britannia prepared for incidents like this. I'm not asking about your well-being, seems it's never in danger."

"Ah, that? Well, I can't be killed, apparently," said L.L., picking Mayuko's sunglasses from the ground and offering them back to her. "At least not by any means I've tried. I don't know anything about this power keeping me alive, that's one of the reasons I need an accomplice. To help me find out. Speaking of powers... turn off your Geass."

"My what?"

"The power I gave you. That's all I remember from before... That girl you saw in my mind, and the word, 'Geass'... I know that something bad happens when you use a Geass for a long time — not sure what. So use it sparingly."

Mayuko turned off her purple bird eye. "So, this power, my Geass... what exactly does it do?" she said in a matter-of-fact tone, seemingly completely unsurprised by all the weirdness that she had just bumped into. "I realize it hides me somehow, but how exactly? What are the details, the limitations?"

"I don't know," admitted L.L. "Why don't you find out? Experimentally?"

* * *

A white limousine with Britannian flags on its doors drove by the outskirts of the former Tokyo Concession. On the first of its back seats, turned backwards, Ohgi and Schneizel were having a quiet discussion. On the second, holding hands, sat Zero and Nunnally. The young empress was staring into the window at her side, giving the city a curious but concerned look.

Tossing an orange with an _Alstreim & Gottwald_ sticker with his free left hand, Zero looked into his window as the car moved by the square where the "Orange" incident took place. It was now decorated with a large obelisk with an inscription on it:

_At this site, the revolutionary  
ZERO__  
began his uprising  
against the colonial government of Area 11_

Suzaku smiled behind his mask, remembering his own role in the incident and Lelouch's dramatic appearance. _Of course it doesn't mention me,_ he thought. _They probably want to forget the fact that Zero once saved me in the first place._

They drove past the former Chinese Federation embassy, which has changed little — the same corner of old-school foreign architecture in the realm of slickness and flat reflective panels, just now decorated with the UFN bird and the flag of the United States of China. Zero looked at the Babel Tower, rebuilt just like it was, except now the skyscraper featured a large sign on it:

_MUSEUM OF THE REVOLUTION_

Suzaku clicked his tongue. _How interesting. If the revolution has retreated to museums, then... what's in people's minds?_

Long was the journey through and out of the city. Now, out of the concession area, they were moving through the former ghettos, now largely abandoned. This endless land of half-destroyed multi-story houses and shabby slums, once full of poorly-dressed ill-fed Elevens, was now completely empty and looked even more devastated than back under Britannian rule. Zero noticed, however, a few islands in this sea of decay that were turned into parks or reclaimed for new buildings, looking cheap but sturdy.

The limousine took a turn left from the main road and entered one of these islands of reconstruction. Amid the rubble of the ghetto stood an ornate palace complex, built in Britannian "futuristic" fashion with glossy walls and cones, surrounded by a moat, with well-kept gardens and with four Knightmare Frames standing guard behind the main gate. Despite all its apparent splendor, it most resembled the fortress of a conqueror in a hostile country.

In front of said gate, they were met by a mob of demonstrants, who were burning Britannian flags and holding banners with crossed out portraits of the Empress and inscriptions reading, "Long live independent Japan!", "Occupants, out!", "These eyes didn't see our despair" (under a close-up of Nunnally's wide open eyes), and so on.

"T-this is..." said Nunnally.

"The Emperor's Retreat," Ohgi finished for her. "For the duration of your visit to Japan, please stay here, Your Majesty. We're, uh... s-sorry for placing you in a residence built by your vile brother, but... it's the safest option. We've even called your royal guards, since the, uh... circumstances have shown that the Black Knights cannot be fully trusted with this."

As the car stopped in the front courtyard, one of said royal guards appeared from behind a tree, rolling an empty wheelchair. Zero got out first and put Nunnally in it.

_Built for Lelouch... well, of course he made it resemble..._

Suzaku closed his eyes and recalled a past argument.

_The sun was setting over the Aries Imperial Villa. The two friends were alone at the rooftop, the Emperor of Britannia and his Knight of Zero, looking at their own elongated shadows in silence._

_"I know we've made a pact, but... do I have to kill you? Is there a need, really?" Suzaku asked uneasily._

_"What's the matter?" responded Lelouch. "Don't you desire my blood for all the deaths I caused? For my Geass, which turned Euphie insane and made you kill Nunnally?"_

_"It's in the past. Your death won't bring them back, the only way for you to atone is to — "_

_"Exactly," interrupted Lelouch. "To look into the past, to became fixated on it — it would be just like my father, that living relic that he was. Stopping the flow of time, bringing back the dead!" he suddenly exploded in anger. "Charles didn't just decide for the living, he decided for the dead too! What if coming back would be a fate worse than death for them — especially in the 'wonderful' world he had prepared for them?"_

_"Lelouch, let it be like we agreed at the shrine," Suzaku said kindly. "To atone for your past, just become an ally of justice in reality. Look at what you did so far — denied the old __Britannia, stopped the war, returned Japan... Why do you have to taint your name instead of just being a good emperor?"_

_"Schneizel."_

_"What?" asked Suzaku, confused._

_"My parents and their selfish plan were just one threat to the world as we know it. There is also Schneizel. As the ruler of the world, and he would stop at nothing less, my brother would be worse than even the fake public image I'm going to adopt. My time is limited, and I don't have the years I would need to regain the trust of the UFN and the Black Knights. The only way to act quickly is to do like I said back then: to become evil to prevent a greater evil still."_

Suzaku clenched his teeth, looking at the white prince while pushing Nunnally's wheelchair upstairs. _You... It is because of you that I had to..._

* * *

"Excuse me..." said L.L., showing Mayuko's camera to a random red-haired man. "Who's standing on the bridge on this picture?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," replied the passer-by, looking straight at a picture of Mayuko on the bridge. "There's no 'who' from what I can see. There's something, but I can't quite make anything out of it..."

L.L. clicked his fingers, and Mayuko turned off her Geass. "Are you sure?" he said. "Look once more."

"Ah, it's a woman in sunglasses! The one who... Eh, how come I haven't noticed her standing right next to you until just now..."

Mayuko smiled and walked downstairs to a secluded spot under the bridge, motioning to L.L. to follow. "I see," she said. "It doesn't make me literally invisible. It just prevents humans from perceiving me as any discernible object — on anything, even pictures. And you as well when we hold hands. But... how come you always see me? Is it because you gave me the Geass?"

"I don't know," said L.L. "Another mystery we have to solve..."

"If we're going to solve mysteries, should we start with your identity?"

L.L. nodded.

"You could start by showing me your face. Why do you wear a mask anyway?" asked Mayuko.

"For safety," explained L.L. "I may be a wanted criminal for all I know. I need to get into the police databases and set the record straight, and your Geass will help me in that. To you, however, I can show my face. We are accomplices, after all — it's not in your interest for me to disappear, just like it's not in my interest for you to die."

Mayuko's face turned doubtful. _Accomplices? He even uses this word, openly talking about crime... With someone so suspicious? Well, he tells me about memory loss, but what if it's a lie? A trap for me? But... I want to believe him..."_

"Show me your face," she said demandingly.

As L.L. carefully took off his white half-mask, she saw a clean, smooth light-skinned face — even somewhat unnaturally smooth. The young man's violet eyes radiated with ambition and honesty, so convincingly that she was almost ready to instantly cast off any doubt about him. "You don't resemble anyone I know," Mayuko said, "but then, you all Britannians look similar enough to me..."

* * *

The airship _Ikaruga_ stopped just above the water in Tokyo Bay. Ohgi, sitting in a motorboat, stepped onto a boarding platform and got lifted onto the bridge. The rest of the core members of the Black Knights were already there: Xingke, the gruff-as-ever Tohdoh, Xianglin, Chiba, Rakshata — leaning in her couch with a pipe, as usual — and Kaguya, with a hopeful look on her face.

"Uh, guys..." said Ohgi, sitting down slowly, "Zero has said that we can count on him appearing."

"Zero?" Tohdoh said sternly. "We have established clearly that this Zero is nothing but an impostor, since we all saw — "

"_Nothing but_ an impostor?" said Zero, appearing on the screen — in almost exactly the same over-the-top, dramatic voice as the old Zero. "We have discussed it before! Even if the symbol of Zero and the Black Knights were created by Lelouch for his selfish purposes — so what? It is not the founder that matters, but the public image and the sincere goal! By holding the world in his power-hungry grasp, Lelouch has lost the right to the name of Zero — and as such, it passed to the people who are ready to live up to the ideals and expectations placed on them. You have all realized this — and this is why none of you have adopted the identity yourselves, because of the weight of this mask!"

'But..." interrupted Ohgi, "how can we even be sure you are the same Zero who slew the Bloody Emperor?"

"He has a point," said Xingke, straightening his long hair. "The old Zero has been known to scheme his way around us. What if it is really you, Lelouch, and the one you killed was just a decoy? Could this be a ploy for the Emperor of Britannia to remain in power when he saw how much the world hated him?"

Suzaku widened his eyes in fear. _He's close to the truth, dangerously close, _he thought. _However..._

"Yes, uh, can't you reveal your face?" asked Ohgi. "At least to us. If you aren't Lelouch, you have nothing to fear, right?"

"Actually, I do," said Zero. "There are high-profile Britannians who will want me dead if they somehow discover my identity, even through one of you — if you don't trust me, I cannot trust you either. If you do believe in me, then I will continue to be your figurehead. If not — I will rather devote myself fully to Britannia and its Empress than involve myself with an Order of the Black Knights that does not recognize my right to be Zero — present there as I was when you gave that right to the one million exiles from Japan!"

Tohdoh raised both eyebrows. Xingke lowered his head and concluded sadly, "I see. Your true loyalty is to Britannia after all. You are first and foremost Nunnally's aide, the Knight of One — and only then the CEO of the Black Knights and the messiah of the Japanese. But... presently, we need you and the legend of Zero. This is why..."

* * *

All around Japan, people clicked their TV remotes in unison — among them Rivalz and Kallen in the Ashford Academy student council room. In the former Clovis Museum of Arts, now renamed in memory of Naoto Kouzuki, the visitors turned away from the paintings and looked at the big screen that had once shown the Lancelot's fight with the Black Knights and the just-freed Tohdoh.

"And now," announced Milly's voice, "we are beginning the broadcast of Her Majesty Nunnally vi Britannia's public speech, in memory of Zero Day!"

Nunnally's determined face appeared on the screen, accompanied by the Britannian anthem in the background. Many Japanese among the crowd frowned upon hearing the hated, all too familiar music.

_Truth and hope in our fatherland,  
And death to every foe..._

"People of Japan! Citizens of the United Federation of Nations! On this day, one year ago, you witnessed my brother, Lelouch vi Britannia, as his life has ended. The despot who would stop at nothing in his wicked lust for power, even as far as going against his own weak, helpless sister if she stood between him and domination over the world. Genocide, poverty, rivers of blood, wasting all of the people's fortune on war — this is what Lelouch left in his wake. It was not regret but relief that I felt when Zero's sword ran through my vile brother's chest..."

The camera didn't show her fully, and for good reason. Nunnally was shaking, her fists clenched, barely retaining her senses...

"It was why I felt it was my duty to succeed him on the Britannian throne, and undo the damage he did to the world. It breaks my heart, however, to see that, despite all my attempts to distance from the past, Britannia is still seen as the enemy and, housing more than half of the world's population, denied entry into the Federation out of fears that it would allow my country to control the whole world. Therefore, as a gesture of my good will, I have decided to reorganize the government of Britannia. As I speak, our ministers are working on the first Britannian constitution that will transfer all legislative power to a freely elected parliament."

_...Hoist your swords high into the clouds,  
Hail Britannia!_

A loud "Eh?!" in multiple voices echoed through the bridge of the _Ikaruga_, where the Black Knights were watching the broadcast.

"A democratic Britannia? That's something new," giggled Rakshata, tossing her pipe into the air.

"No," said Tohdoh. "This speech isn't like her at all. There is someone else behind this, and it's — "

"Finally," continued Nunnally, "Britannia will be reduced to its core territory in North and Central America, abandoning all its conquests in South America, Africa and Eurasia that it made under Charles and Lelouch. The former Areas will be turned into independent countries headed by their current governors, and form the Britannian Commonwealth of States. The creation of the Commonwealth will be ratified in a week from now after I return from Japan, on the governors' summit in New Pendragon."

"No, Schneizel," Xingke exclaimed in fury, grabbing the hilt of his sword. "I thought about this possibility. It's just a ploy to — "

_Fracture the UFN, _thought the Prime Minister of Britannia in his own chamber, smiling. _With Britannia gone as the common enemy, the Black Knights as a unified military and the Federation itself will cease the reason to exist. And then... For your sake, Lord Zero, Her Majesty's safety will be ensured!_

"Emergency!" Sugiyama's face suddenly appeared on the monitor of the _Ikaruga_ bridge, cutting off the transmission. "The Third Division has just left Penglai Island in full force, without sanction! They have cut off all communication and are heading towards northern Chinese territory!"

"Third Division?!" Rakshata choked on her pipe. "Don't tell me... they took my Izanami with them, too?"

"Afraid that's correct, Miss Chawla," said Sugiyama, looking completely lost. "The mass production prototype based on the Shinkirou is now in the hands of the deserters!"

* * *

**Toromo Institute, Cambodia**

The long, dimly-lit spiral path downstairs has finally ended, and a lone man in a noble's attire found himself in front of a dark wooden double door with no signs on it. He knocked three times — twice strongly and once lightly — and waited for five seconds, bending fingers on his hand. When nobody opened, he just pushed the door and came in.

The room beyond it was hexagonal in shape, with a tiled floor and wallpaper with exotic wave patterns. One of the walls had a red upside-down Geass symbol painted on it. In the middle of the room stood a round table, at which sat six men in grey suits — all about forty years old, with black hair and small beards.

"Earl Maldini?" exclaimed one of them.

"It has been some time," smiled Kanon, entering the room and taking the empty seventh seat. "If I had learned sooner what you were up to here, I would have arrived sooner. After all, besides my primary concern, I have brought data from the Geass Investigation Taskforce that I collected back in Lelouch's time."

"So, you believe that Prince Schneizel is under...?"

"Under a Geass," nodded Kanon. "And I don't just _believe_, I know it. Why do you think His Highness suddenly defected to Lelouch? The bastard cast a Geass on him in front of my own eyes."

"What was the exact order?" asked another one of the men, with a large forehead and oval glasses.

"To obey Zero. I don't know why the Bloody Emperor said Zero instead of specifically himself, but you can see the result. Around that new Zero, His Highness has been reduced to a mockery of his former self."

"So... how do you expect us to deal with this case?" inquired the glasses-wearer.

"Your usual way," Kanon said coldly.

* * *

_**Comments**_

_L.L.'s identity was not meant to be a secret, so I chose the initials that made sense rather than "more obvious" ones. The question is not who he is, but how he got there, and what remains of his old self._

_Memory loss is a ridiculously overused plot device in Code Geass — it annoys me to the point that I'm thinking of rewriting the beginning of R2 in another fanfic, so that it continues immediately from the cliffhanger and doesn't involve a one-year time skip and Lelouch getting memory-wiped by Charles. Admittedly, it means Rolo would have to be removed from the plot entirely... Anyway, in this story, I pledge not to use memory loss ever again. With L.L., I sort of had no choice._


End file.
